Invasion of the Radurjic Republics
The Invasion of the Radurjic Republics took place in 551 and saw the almost complete destruction of the once-mighty Union of Radurjic Republics. There was little to no actual combat between armies, making it essentially a phoney war, although many civilians perished in the resulting chaos. Background During the Sunset War, the UJR had fought alongside the Empire of Dawn to protect its eastern territories. During the war, however, the Painted Diarchy of Raaneka was induced from the side of its liege in the Kingdom of Serendel and joined the Union as a new group of republics. Many of the Raaneki aristocracy, displeased with this development, departed into exile in the sympathetic Kingdom of Stolok. The King of Glazfell, who had a distant claim to the throne of Raaneka, began inducing Raaneki to come to Stolok in the hope of forming an effective government in exile, and eventually installed a strong Raaneki claimant on the throne of Stolok. Lucas Serendel, the king of North Lyradis, had never been satisfied with the departure of Raaneka from the Empire of Dawn and was outspoken on many occasions both to his liege and to the UJR on the subject, though the UJR refused to countenance returning the provinces. Lucas had long threatened to retake the provinces by force, but had been restrained by his liege and cousin Ridion. Some in the Empire believed however that as Lucas was Ridion's heir it was only a matter of time before the Empire and the UJR came to blows. In the late 440s, the UJR supported the Sharixian Republic in its bid for independence from the Tzaltec Empire. The Tzaltec, seeking allies wherever they could find them, hired the Everburning Horde as mercenaries. Since the Horde were then located in distant Gunung, however, it turned out to be impractical for them to support the Tzaltec in Valasharix and instead they began preparations for an invasion of Nyroth. Secretly they entered negotiations with the Hurosha Empire, which had long coveted Nyroth and had come close to an invasion immediately following the Sunset War. Although formerly allied to the UJR, the Hurosha Empire indicated it would support an invasion of Nyroth in exchange for keeping the province at the war's conclusion. Conflict The Sharixian war came to little, but on his return journey from a peace conference dealing with the war and the cession of a southern region to Kelldria, Ridion Serendel vanished, never arriving in the Kingdom of Serendel. While there was a reluctance to declare the Emperor dead, Lucas became regent and immediately carried out his long-held threat to retake the Raaneki provinces from the UJR. He was quickly joined by Tikta Satato and his cousin Margaret Serendel, the Stolok claimants to the Twin Thrones, and by their liege in Glazfell. With the Union already struggling to respond to the threat on its eastern border, Hurosha joined the Empire of Dawn in declaring war, and received the support of another Dawn vassal in the Faedas Freehold. Meanwhile the army of the Razdissi Underpire, an ancient ally of Lyradis and a vassal of the Freehold, marched into Ayava. Finally, in what seemed to be an act of opportunism, the Salterri Imperium laid claim to the old lands of the house of Ethmorl in Hrathan-Tuor and Grizzland, and invaded, promising to restore that family to its rightful place. The Union government was paralysed by the scale of the attack. Badly outnumbered and unable to find any allies, the Executor, Bozhidar Iron Glaive, initially gave orders to defend the borders and call the militia, but then seemed to panic and fled the country, followed quickly by the majority of the Senate. An attempt to hold an emergency vote to elect a new Senate failed in the face of the crisis gripping the Union. Aloren erupted in chaos, the Senate building in Miji Mkuu burned and tens of thousands of civilians killed in riots. The only functioning arm of government remaining was the Judicator, the spiritual leader of the Union, who attempted to marshal the army but realised he had no hope in a war on such a scale, and would be forced to surrender many of the outlying provinces of the Union in order to retain his grip on those closer to home. The Regnum of Praeclarus eventually intervened to propose a negotiated solution to the invasion, inviting all parties to attend an "Isle of Peace", which proved successful in averting further conflict. Conclusion The Judicator managed to exert authority over the traditional home of Radurja in Genivana and his native province of Cephalo'Di. Grizzland and Hrathan-Tuor remained loyal, though wavering in their support. These four remaining regions of the Union joined Praeclarus for protection. K'Braashriix, cut off by the chaos in Aloren, retreated into isolation, leaving the Union in practice. Raaneka and Qarimos were fully annexed by North Lyradis, while a restored Khan took office in Nyroth and Woodwind. Delegations of Alorese citizens reached both Cephalo'Di and the Kingdom of the Carmine Sea, pleading for the rump Union government and their titular king respectively to come to the province and restore order. In response, King Elwyn laid down his own title and crowned his grandson Athelwyn as King of Aloren, before sending him to take up office in the region on a long-term basis. References Category:Wars Category:International Relations Category:Wars on Telluris